Teacher Paul Beavers, right, uses interactive videos while teaching world history during a ninth grade class at Hillsboro High School in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2014. / Jae S. Lee, The Tennessean

by Duane W. Gang, USA TODAY

by Duane W. Gang, USA TODAY

NASHVILLE - Social studies textbooks are on the way to becoming history.

In a growing number of school districts across the USA, education officials are declining to purchase new versions and instead are encouraging teachers to find alternatives - from websites and interactive videos to primary sources.

Nashville public schools expect to spend $1.1 million this year on digital social studies material and will add to that in the coming years, spokesman Joe Bass said.

The school district has asked teachers to use the alternatives to teach history, geography and other social studies.

"The textbook should not be the primary resource for teachers," said Jay Steele, the chief academic officer for public schools in Nashville. "It is a resource only, and it's one of many resources."

Educators and experts say moving away from traditional social studies textbooks is a smart move and a sign of the times. More and more students use electronic devices, and digital resources are more up to date.

"If teachers are given enough professional development and the resources to include things like primary sources in their classroom, that is the most effective way to teach history," said Fritz Fischer, a professor of history and director of history education at the University of Northern Colorado.

Indeed, Paul Beavers, a world history teacher at Nashville's Hillsboro High School, uses a host of resources in his classroom. He even creates a 2-minute podcast using his iPhone for students to review each lesson.

During a recent freshman class, he showed videos of archaeological sites and used an interactive online quiz he built to help students explain the connection between farming and invention.

Students took notes on laptops, saved documents to Google Drive and plotted questions and answers on an interactive online map. They huddled in small groups to come up with their own conclusions.

Not relying on a social studies textbook means he can better tailor his curriculum, Beavers said.

"It makes me be on the top of my game," he said.

The change seems to resonate with students.

Alex Skavron, 15, says he likes having less to haul around in his backpack and can e-mail his notes home. The visual aids and videos make learning easier.

"It is 10 times better," he said. "It is not a plain picture in a textbook. That bores me."

But April Proctor, 14, still prefers a book. There is less to write down and she said she doesn't have a computer at home. Still, she said, the change has made the class more interactive.

"Everyone has a chance to speak," she said.

Similar stories are playing out in classrooms across the USA.

In Fairfax County, Va., the school district adopted new social studies textbooks in 2009-2010. But the textbook is no longer the central focus, said Alice Reilly, the district's social studies coordinator.

"We have a mixture of everything. We use multiple resources," Reilly said. "We have some textbooks. We have some online textbooks. We use library databases. We use a big variety. That is where the trend is going."

In Iowa, 100 of the state's 338 school districts have one computer or tablet computer per student. In those districts, students access half to three-quarters of their social studies material digitally, said Stefanie Wager, a social studies consultant to the Iowa Department of Education.

A host of primary source material is available online, either through the Library of Congress, the National Archives or state resources, Wager said. "You don't really need to have the traditional textbook," she said.

Not relying on traditional history books cuts down on the potential for "textbook wars" where residents object to certain conclusions, said Fischer, a past chairman of the National Council for History Education. Using online material and primary sources focuses students on drawing their own conclusions and teaches them critical thinking, he said.

But Fischer said he's a bit suspicious of the moves, too. If a school board has a detailed plan about what materials to use and puts money into professional development, then moving away from social studies textbooks can prove successful, he said.

But some teachers may have never worked with primary source documents or haven't since college. Without training, "it is going to be a disaster," he said.

"The devil is in the details on exactly what they are going to spend their money on," he said. "If all they will do is spend money on technological gadgets or some prepackaged material that a publishing company has come up with, that's not right."

Gang also reports for The Tennessean. Contributing: Joey Garrison of The Tennessean